Creative outfits bring dimension to upcoming Inspire Film Festival

By Sondra Hernandez, shernandez@hcnonline.com

Published
2:14 pm CST, Friday, February 2, 2018

A portion of the "Chasing Choral" dress created by Mindy Fisher for the 2018 Inspire Film Festival. Fisher and Betz DeMonico have created 11 dresses inspired by the films of the Inspire Film Festival Feb. 15-19. less

A portion of the "Chasing Choral" dress created by Mindy Fisher for the 2018 Inspire Film Festival. Fisher and Betz DeMonico have created 11 dresses inspired by the films of the Inspire Film Festival Feb. ... more

Image
1of/5

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 5

A portion of the "Chasing Choral" dress created by Mindy Fisher for the 2018 Inspire Film Festival. Fisher and Betz DeMonico have created 11 dresses inspired by the films of the Inspire Film Festival Feb. 15-19. less

A portion of the "Chasing Choral" dress created by Mindy Fisher for the 2018 Inspire Film Festival. Fisher and Betz DeMonico have created 11 dresses inspired by the films of the Inspire Film Festival Feb. ... more

Creative outfits bring dimension to upcoming Inspire Film Festival

1 / 5

Back to Gallery

The Inspire Film Festival is more than a film festival - it's an immersive experience.

The second annual event in The Woodlands is set for Feb. 15-19 and the idea is to transform the notion of a typical film festival experience.

Festival founder Jane Minarovic explained there are 4,000 film festivals in the world and 15 film festivals in Houston.

Typically you view movie after movie.

But Minarovic has expanded the idea to have a film festival that enlightens, empowers connects the community.

"We wanted it to be a three-dimensional experience," Minarovic said.

And friends like Mindy Fisher and Betz DeMonico and others are helping to carry out Minarovic's vision.

"She doesn't just stop at the films," Fisher said. "There's breakout sessions where you can go and have a one-on-one conversation and there's panel discussions and community events. There's layers and events to get people out and connected."

For example, she'll have two ping pong tables set up in Market Street. They are inspired by the short film "The Tables" where two ping pong tables were placed in New York City's Bryant Park and anyone is invited to play.

Another of those layers involves the creative designs of Fisher and DeMonico.

They are creating 11 outfits that are inspired by the films chosen for this year's festival.

The outfits will be worn at the VIP opening party on Thursday, Feb. 15, at The Pavilion's Event Center and throughout the festival when possible.

While they've enjoyed collaborating in preparation for this year's event, Minarovic and Fisher's friendship goes back to when their daughters were in kindergarten at The John Cooper School in The Woodlands.

They hit it off at the first parent social and their daughters, Ava and Kate, have been good friends throughout their school years.

Both creative forces, Minarovic and Fisher would create costumes for their daughters to wear to the Renaissance Festival after not being satisfied with what they found in stores.

"I've probably always been a frustrated costume designer," Fisher said. "I've discovered how much I enjoy that whole process of having an idea in my head and figuring out how to make that work."

In 2017, their daughters Ava and Kate and other girls who are a part of The John Cooper School's Aerial Dance Company lead by Betz DeMonico dressed like characters from the Inspire films.

This year the teens will serve as ambassadors and wear beautifully detailed outfits created by Fisher and DeMonico to add another layer of dimension to the festival.

"I feel very privileged to be so close to Jane and get to be behind the scenes and listen to the process of her choosing the films," Fisher said.

The two collaborate on ideas and bounce ideas off each other with the result being creative outfits inspired by the 2018 films.

Fisher's daughter, Kate, will wear a dress inspired by the film "Chasing Choral" and they have bonded in the creation of the garment.

The film draws attention to the bleaching of the choral reefs.

Fisher began working on the dress last summer and worked to represent choral by using ordinary items like Q-tips dipped in wax, medicine cups, coffee filters, straws, hair clips and more.

Minarovic's oldest daughter, Ava, will represent the festival overall. Fisher made a skirt out of Christmas wreaths that were stripped to their circles. Minarovic found 33mm strips of film on Ebay.

They sorted through a variety of film to find colors and patterns that fit with the design. The colorful strips of film are then lit with LED lights.

One of Fisher's prized finds was that in all the film they went through, they found the words "Anyone Can Inspire You" on four pieces of film. These strips are used in the bodice of the dress.

Another of her dresses was inspired by "The Farthest," a documentary on the Voyager spacecraft.

Minarovic's other daughter, Gracie, will wear this dress of all black with LED sewn underneath to simulate space.

Fisher has also created dresses inspired by "Swim Team" about a swim team made of autistic youth, "Jane" a documentary on Jane Goodall who is noted for her research on chimpanzees, "The Starfish Thrower" and "One Plastic Beach." The family featured in "Swim Team" will attend the festival and be a part of discussions.

DeMonico has created costumes to pair with "City of Ghosts," "Beatrice" and "Evolution of Life."

"The idea is to come close and look for what's beyond," Fisher said. "Like the films that start with a big issue, we want you to pause and stop and look into the issue. Things look different when you take a longer look."

All film showings will be in walking distance in The Woodlands. Locations include Cinemark 17, the Insperity Theater at The Pavilion's Event Center and Cinemark at Market Street. A short film kick-off event takes place in The Woodlands' Waterway Square from 6 to 9 p.m. Feb. 15.